Source: Triblive.comBy Renatta Signorini Two Hempfield brothers are accused of poaching a deer in November. Raymond James Falk Jr., 22, and Victor Raymond Falk, 25, both of Luxor, allegedly shot a small whitetail deer on private farmland and used a spotlight to look for the animal before driving away in a Jeep Cherokee, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Phone numbers could not be located for either man. Neither has an attorney listed in online court records. A Unity man reported to Wildlife Conservation Officer Brian Singer that he and some relatives witnessed a poaching incident on farmland near Tipple Row Road at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, according to the affidavit. The man said he saw a flash and heard a shot from a firearm that was “parallel with the headlights of the vehicle from the passenger side of the Jeep near the passenger window area,” Singer wrote. A spotlight from the Jeep pointed in the direction of the gunshot, before the vehicle fled. The witness confronted the Jeep's occupants, who denied shooting anything, Singer said. A small whitetail deer, suffering from a gunshot wound to the back, was found about 40-50 yards from where the Jeep was parked, the witness told Singer. The Jeep is registered to Victor Falk, police said. Firearm hunting season for deer did not start until Dec. 2. A black spotlight was plugged into the Jeep's power source when Singer arrived at the Falks' home to interview the men. “Both individuals indicated that they had been in the white Jeep earlier and were spotlighting, but denied any involvement in shooting of the deer,” Singer wrote.Raymond Falk Jr. told Singer he doesn't “shoot small (expletive) deer anyways,” according to the affidavit. More....

Source: Reuters.comBy Laura ZuckermanA controversial hunting contest in Idaho targeting wolves and coyotes has ended with nearly two dozen coyotes killed but no wolves shot, though rancor over the event remains undiminished. The coyote and wolf derby was promoted by ranchers and hunting enthusiasts as a form of family recreation aimed at reducing the number of predators threatening livestock and big-game animals like elk prized by hunters. It was condemned by conservationists as cruel and unsportsmanlike.The weekend hunt on national forest land ringing the Idaho mountain town of Salmon drew 250 contestants seeking cash and trophies in categories ranging from bagging the largest wolf to shooting the most female coyotes. Children as young as 10 were invited to compete in a youth division.The event was sponsored by Idaho for Wildlife, which fights "all radical anti-hunting and anti-gun environmentalists," according to its executive director Steve Alder.Adler said none of the teams managed to kill a wolf, but 23 coyotes were killed, making it a far cry from the "wolf killing spree" predicted by opponents."It shows hunting is not an effective tool to eliminate wolves. We're going to have to take more aggressive action," Alder said.Hunters brought coyote carcasses to Salmon to be measured and counted and potentially sold to fur buyers. Several carcasses were piled in the back of pickup trucks.Some contestants said they were disappointed at not bagging any wolves, and expressed frustration with opponents of the event."We'll only have agreement with environmentalists when we kill all the wolves here," said Jeremiah Martin, a hunter from Salmon.Online petitions criticizing the contest garnered tens of thousands of signatures and opponents have threatened a boycott of Idaho's famous potatoes. More....

Source: Thehindu.comBy R. Krishna Kumar ‘Those held on Sunday could be part of a wider network’ Anti-poaching camps at Bandipur have stepped up their vigil inside the national park following the arrest of 10 people from near the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday.Those held for poaching are from Madhya Pradesh. Wildlife activists suspect that they could be part of a wider network that may have spread its dragnet in the south, as similar gangs from Katni and Satna, also in Madhya Pradesh, were nabbed a few years ago from Nagarahole.All 46 anti-poaching camps operating inside Bandipur are on high alert. The area under each camp’s jurisdiction is being combed to ascertain if there are snares or other traps for wild animals.InstructionsConservator of Forests H.C. Kantharaj, who is also the Director of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, told The Hindu that instructions were issued to Range Officers and other field staff to ascertain the presence of nomadic communities or those living in tents close to the forests, and question them.A gang of tribal people from Odisha were found camping in the border village of Hangala last month. Forest Department officials seized monitor lizards and other animals that were trapped by them.Cases“We took them into custody and registered cases for violating the Wildlife Protection Act as they were found to be in possession of wildlife derivatives,” Mr. Kantharaj said.Tiger claws and whiskers were seized from those nabbed from R.S. Doddi, which is close to the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary. Even if they are small-time gangs, they could be the first line of operators in the complex multilayer network of poachers and their clients in the illegal trade of wildlife derivatives, according to officials. More....

Source: Assamtribune.comThe people of Dhubri district have alleged that rare varieties of wildlife found here are on the verge of extinction due to wanton killing of such animals.The district being a natural habitat of wild animals, there had been proposals to create a mini zoo and park for these animals. But due to the indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned, these proposals never materialized and eventually, the killing of animals increased. The absence of a wildlife wing in the forest department and negligence of concerned authorities have also been encouraging poaching in the district. According to sources in the Dhubri Forest Division, the animals are mainly killed with the help of firearms, but other means such as poisoning, electrocution and the traditional bow and arrows are also being used. They said of late in most the forest areas of the district, birds like peacock, white-winged wood duck, pheasant, dove, drake gander, kingfisher, etc., and many other rare species of animals have come under tremendous pressure due to poaching. Poaching disrupts breeding and even changes migration patterns. Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have appealed to the people of the district not to encourage the sale of meat of wild animals and at the same time, motivate others not to kill the innocent animals, because they too have an equal right to live in this world like human beings.Shyamal Sanyal, chief convenor of the Dhubri Bikash Aru Pragati Mancha, a social organization of Dhubri town, demanded establishment of a wildlife wing under the forest department, and that Salkocha, Rokakhata, Alomganj forest areas be kept reserved for wild animals, and if possible, the proposal for the mini zoo and park should be materialized so that wanton killing of animals is stopped, and these innocent animals are protected properly. Otherwise, the days are not far when the district will become completely devoid of all these rare animals, he said.

Source: Thebhutanese.BTBy Tanden Zangmo The three-day annual forestry conference held in Samtse from December 19 to 21 resolved to combat wildlife crime and poaching more stringently. Participants at the conference, constituting of about 180 foresters and conservationists from all parts of the country, felt that there is an urgent need to improve enforcement of forestry and wildlife regulations. Participants also expressed appreciation towards the commendable tasks being carried out by the Forest Protection and Surveillance Unit (FPSU) of the Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS). The unit, in collaboration with all forest territorial divisions and park management, monitors, apprehends and compounds all cases related to illegal timber and poaching cases in the country. However, many felt that there is an immediate requirement to improve forestry and wildlife enforcement since it entails various issues. The conference, as a congregation of all policy makers and enforcers, is considered to serve as the right platform to deliberate and dovetail anti-poaching plans into making it more effective and daunting for the offenders. “Combating wildlife crime and poaching is a very sensitive issue and must be dealt with very cautiously,” said one of the participants. He added the conference is the right forum to brainstorm and come up with effective tactics that could help in bringing down the cases of wildlife crime. The conference, after in depth discussions, adopted that the existing capacity of the surveillance unit be strengthened. This will be done through deployment of more qualified and experienced staff in the unit. Participants shared that the shortage of staff is one impediment in curbing and curtailing the crime. The conference also recognized informant networking or whistleblowers as one critical component of fighting wildlife crime. The participants at the conference felt that more than the forestry officials, it is the secret spy and informant who gain more access to secret plots that are being hatched within the confinement of closed door. More....

Source: NorthDevonjournal.co.ukThere are different ways of thinking about salmon, but the gulf between such fishy thoughts can be oceans apart. There’s the muddy tasting salmon we can buy in supermarkets or the slightly greasy layers of smoked offerings we consume on canapés around this time of the year – then there’s the big, wild, sleek, magnificent beast that are the monarchs of our rivers…[sic\ To know about that creature – and I mean to really understand why the salmon is master of the Westcountry’s waterways – it helps to both see these amazing fish out in the wild, and to understand something about their extraordinary lifestyle. The Western Morning News was invited on to the high moors of Exmoor to do just that, now that the annual spawning has finally got underway. There is something very special indeed about spying a huge sleek creature lurking in a tiny stream and knowing that, after it was born in this exact same place, it travelled more than 2,500 miles and faced hazards too numerous to mention. The chances of the creature achieving such an adventure from hatching to mating or egg-laying are many, many thousands-to-one. Which is why each salmon could be described as a gleaming, silver, miracle. No wonder people like Nick Maye and Ben Simpson are willing to spend so much of their time keeping an eye out for these incredible fish. It’s part of Nick’s job – he is fisheries officer with the Environment Agency (EA) and in that role looks after the entire River Exe catchment – but you get the feeling that he is so passionate about salmon that he spends far longer out on the river banks than his job description demands. Ben doesn’t get paid for looking after the salmon at all – but as a committee member River Exe and Tributaries Association (RETA) and a riparian owner, he shares the passion for wild salmon. More....

Source: CBSnews.comBy Joel SartoreIt's the 1880s, and my fellow Nebraskan has made a big decision: to spend real money to have his picture taken with his two prized possessions: a 10-gauge shotgun, and the whooping crane he's just killed with it. By 1900, this tallest of North American birds was driven to near-extinction by trophy and meat hunters. And it was not alone. Laws to protect wildlife were scarce, too. So our forbearers pretty much shot and trapped out all they could, everywhere they could, every time they could. The pioneers, like many of us, were greedy.Human nature hasn't changed much since then, but fortunately we now have laws in place to throttle us back. Few are better than the Endangered Species Act.

Forty years ago yesterday -- December 28, 1973 -- Richard Nixon signed the bill, which at the time made us the only nation on Earth to declare a basic right of existence for species other than our own. Without government regulation, unbridled hunting, pollution and development was going to doom much of America's bounty, and lawmakers knew it. So the goal of the Endangered Species Act was kept simple: to keep species from going extinct, no matter the cost. And by and large it's worked. Among the closest of calls were the California condor, the black-footed ferret, and, yes, the whooping crane. Incredibly, all got down to fewer than 25 individuals, yet were pulled back from the very brink of extinction thanks to federal protection.

Some animals have done so well they've actually been taken off the Endangered Species List. The peregrine falcon, bald eagle and American alligator were all in real trouble back when the law was passed in 1973. Now they're commonplace. More....

Yet her long years in captivity at Cincinnati Zoo had seen her elevated to star attraction and feted like an American First Lady, a fitting tribute to a humble bird named in honour of George Washington’s beloved wife.By the time Martha had reached her dotage in 1914, visitors across the US and beyond were making pilgrimages to see her alone on her perch.The offer of a $1,000 reward to find a mate to keep going a species which had once numbered five billion but was wiped out by trapping and shooting went unclaimed.Her death is regarded as the key moment in conservation history: living, and dying, proof of mankind’s ability to wipe out a ­fellow species and the realisation that extinction really is for ever.Martha’s story is told in Lost Animals, published by Blooms- bury, one of a series of projects and books in the New Year marking the centenary of her death and highlighting the spectre of extinction.Just as poignant is Going Going Gone, also by Bloomsbury, which looks at 100 species – some famed, many little known – moving towards the brink because of the pressures of the modern world.To highlight the threats, 100 wildlife conservation groups were asked to choose a species that epitomises their work and the dangers faced. The answers will surprise many.While the mighty African ­elephant, dashing Amur leopard and polar bear might be expected to appear in a list of endangered animals, the wildlife organisations also nominated a vast array of plants, invertebrates and even threatened habitats.The Orangutan Foundation highlights the plight of the great ape of the Sumatran and Bornean rainforests. Logging, mining and clearance for palm oil seriously threaten the flame-coated ape. Today, fewer than 60,000 survive. More....

Source: Members.Jacksonville.comBy Bob McNallyDavid was a proud new landowner. The Jacksonville man (whose real name is not used at his request) bought his 640-acre place in rural North Florida and started fixing up the old farm house, working with his wife and kids getting everything a rural family needed and wanted. They repaired fences, pond [filtered word\, woods roads and culverts. Put in a garden. Got fields ready for planting. Built wood duck boxes and stocked two lakes with bass and panfish. Life was good for the new country landlord until one morning he heard a gunshot, then two, three, five and more. They were close, on his property. No one had permission to hunt, so David got in his truck and took off for the back of his square mile of paradise, while his wife nervously watched him drive away. Ten minutes later David spotted a pickup truck alongside a county road that abutted his land. Three men were near it, two of them across a fence on David’s property. A lifelong hunter, David sensed trouble, but he purposefully was unarmed as he drove up beside the men, stunned at what he saw. Five wild hogs were dead on the ground, shot on David’s land from a public roadway. The hogs were wild. But in Florida they are classified not as game animals, but private livestock, so penalties for shooting them are even more severe than illegally shooting wild game. “Fellows, those are my hogs you got there,” David said calmly. “Them’s wild pigs, no season, no limit,” one of the men said fast and nervous. “Seen ’em cross the road, we pulled over and shot ’em ’fore they got to the fence — they jus’ died on your side. We’re fixin’ to load ’em and take ’em home.” “Well, shootin’ from a public road right of way isn’t legal, and I sure didn’t give you permission to shoot ’em on my land,” David continued as he stepped out of his truck. “We better let the game warden sort this out.” More....

Source: ABQjournal.comBy Andy StinyTwo warrants to search the home and vehicles of a Tierra Amarilla resident have turned up deer, elk and bear parts that New Mexico Game and Fish officers believe were poached in violation of state game laws, according to court documents. A Santa Fe assistant district attorney signed off on the warrants and the filing of criminal charges is up to that office. Online court records show no charges had been filed against the suspect as of Thursday. The officer who signed the warrants wrote that he “has reason to believe the crime of unlawful possession of deer is being committed by” the suspect. According to the affidavit for the warrants: The wildlife officers learned from a confidential informant that the 34-year-old suspect had “eight, ‘big’ freshly killed and skinned deer skulls with antlers attached in his residence.” They were thought to be fresh kills and officers believe the suspect had been dropped off on foot to hunt late at night along N.M. 112 and U.S. 64. A Game and Fish officer corroborated the informant’s information through an independent investigation. One officer said he had seen the suspect driving along N.M. 112 many times at slow speeds in December and late November. Also in December, another officer investigated four headless deer found along the same road. “This area has a high volume of illegal hunting” and “illegal hunters are known to drive at slow speeds, looking for deer and kill them from the roadway,” Officer Shawn Carrell wrote in the affidavit. Carrell said he found a bear hide in a freezer at the suspect’s home on County Road 348 and an elk skull with antlers attached in a hay barn after serving the search warrants on Sunday at about 8 a.m. The day before the warrants were served, two officers saw what appeared to be deer rib cages, legs and a deer skull on the suspect’s property. More....

Source: Reddeeradvocate.comBy Renee FrancoeurPreliminary findings from an Alberta Environment study show that the otter population in the West Country is seemingly low and sustainable. Concerns from anglers around Rocky Mountain House over recent years about the health of the sport fisheries sparked a two-year research project into what many thought was a growing otter problem. Fish are alleged to be one of the main items on an otter’s diet list after all. However, since Carrie Nugent, a wildlife biologist with Alberta Environment and based in Drayton Valley, began the hunt for more data collection on the West Country otters in September 2011, she spotted only one otter. “We saw one otter . . . It was around Nordegg and for the amount of time spent in the field, that is a really low number. I was just as surprised as anyone about that,” Nugent said. “We looked for tracks, scats and just found not a lot of signs. “So at this point I would say the otter population is at a really low density as it was difficult to detect them, despite targeting areas where we thought they would be most active.” Without some sort of sample size, it’s impossible to create a population estimate, she added. While it is known there are otters living at Cow Lake, Nugent focused on streams to find out more about the river creatures and the fisheries. Her team researched at least 20 different streams, honing in on about 1-km sections where “prey availability” would also be escalated due to high fish density. She also spent a large amount of time at Prairie Creek during the brown trout spawning season (October and November). “This was an area that many anglers were specifically concerned about and if there was an otter effect, we were going to detect it over spawning or wintering,” Nugent said. “I walked that area every week for six weeks throughout the season and didn’t find a single track, scat, no sign of an otter there.” More....

Source: Tahoedailytribune.comBy Liz KellarOne of the two men charged on the basis of DNA evidence in a bear poaching case pleaded guilty Thursday to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jason Scott Wilkison, 43, of Grass Valley, took a plea agreement in return for a stipulated sentence of two years in state prison. Wilkison and his co-defendant, Christopher Art Nunley, 54, of North San Juan, had been charged with misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of a bear and unlawfully killing a bear, as well as felony charges involving the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. Nunley is considering a plea offer and will be back in court Jan. 16. The female bear reportedly was killed in April at a residence located near Grizzly Flat. The two men reportedly tried to butcher the bear and skin it and then tried to get rid of it. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office assisted California Fish and Wildlife wardens in serving a series of search warrants that led to the discovery of bear remains, allegedly found in a shallow grave near Wilkison’s residence. Additional bear hair allegedly was located at Nunley’s residence. To build the bear-poaching case, wildlife officers executed six separate search warrants during their nearly half-year investigation. The bear’s DNA indicated it was a female black bear, said warden Jerry Karnow. Karnow launched the investigation after receiving reports that the bear had been unlawfully shot after being lured with bait. “A lot of our cases are made from statements without any evidence, and we spend hours and days corroborating that,” Karnow said. Karnow was led to two supposed kill sites, and found bear hair and bear blood at one of the locations in a “very remote area,” he said. “I was able to make a poaching case based on that,” Karnow said. “I never did recover the body or the skull. Through DNA, we positively identified the blood and hair as coming from a bear.” Karnow noted the state’s DNA lab frequently receives requests from other states and had a lengthy backlog; he said he was able to have his results expedited, however. Wilkison is set to return to Nevada County Superior Court to be sentenced on Jan. 17.

Source: Huffingtonpost.comBy Sourav RoyMany in India worship Sherawali Mata or Durga, the divine "Mother Goddess" who comes mounted on a tiger, making the king of the jungle the chosen vehicle of one of India's most powerful and revered religious deities. An equal number, also worship her husband, Shiva, one of the three commanding gods of the Hindu trinity, and one who meditates sitting on a tiger skin. Clearly, between the husband-wife divine duo, the tiger is the common connotation of power. While one rides it into the battlefields, symbolizing her vanquishing power and infallibility, the other either sits on its skin or wears it, denoting his control over all worldly affairs.It would then be obvious to assume that the eminence of tiger in India would be of epic proportions and the majestic cat would be revered within the country as much as its countless temples. But alas, the tiger in India is only safe as long as its been ridden on by the goddess in fables and folklore. For in the wild, it runs the phenomenal risk of being poached and mutilated for the trade of its skin and body parts. Ironically, the iconic representation of immortal power and might is itself begging for some divine intervention now.According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, 2013 saw 39 tigers poached in India, the highest ever in seven years. The Times of India, reported that poachers in India killed 101 tigers across 17 states since 2008, citing proximity of human settlements to tiger habitats as the main reason for the rapid increase in poaching. The southern-Indian state of Karnataka lost more tigers to poachers than anywhere else in the country. The Ministry of Environment and Forests of the state of Karnataka stated that there were about 762 villages with 48,549 families in the core/critical tiger habitats across India of which 101 such villages were in Karnataka. However, even the numbers quoted above are disputed by conservation activists as many claim that a good number of poaching cases go unreported or are hushed up due to complicity of conniving officials. "Our law enforcement is a joke and we all know that even the pettiest of the crimes in India are committed with the consent of colluding officers. What do you think, they'll let go off the lucrative tiger trade so easily?," questions tiger activist Ramesh (name changed due to safety reasons) who works for a wildlife watchdog. "Just look at these rangers protecting the tigers. They are ill-equipped, under-paid, have no life or health insurance, handicapped in the absence of a strong intelligence gathering network and are often armed with obsolete weapons that are no match for the automatic weapons that poachers use. To make matters worse, some of them are involved in the trade and the laws around tiger poaching and the trade of tiger parts is absurdly weak and full of loopholes. How do you expect the situation to come under control, then?," adds Ramesh. More....

Source: Ippmedia.comBy Gerald KitabuA thunderous wheezing sound from a group of hippopotamuses floating on Katuma River near Sitalike village could be heard as we entered the Katavi National Park in Mpanda district, Katavi region enthralling Bishop Charles Gadi of the Dar es Salaam based Good News for All Ministry. He braved the scotching sun capturing every event that was taking place in the River. Katuma River is the vital lifeline of the Park which feeds Lake Katavi in the north and Lake Chada in the centre as well as the huge Katisunga floodplain. In recent years, apart from being used as the source of water for varieties of wild animals, has also become home to thousands of hippopotamuses and crocodiles. Despite being the third largest National Park in Tanzania, Katavi national park was not even known to many people in the country. After getting out of the vehicle to take some photos a group of journalists could see hundreds of grunting hippos murmuring and squeezing themselves into the muddy water. It was journey full of joy, sympathies, friendship, and laughter. Casual glances at trees along the road that crossed the river from Mpanda town to Sumbawanga district, Rukwa region, journalists could see birds swaying smoothly on feeble branches preening their feathers excitedly as they prepared to play on the soft backs of the hippos. Beautiful vegetation and green environment inside and around the national park, has attracted a variety of huge animals, plants and birds species. As he was strolling further through tall green grasses, incredible scenery that include immense wetlands, roaring waterfalls and original miombo woodlands, where the sable antelopes often hide, were enough charm to journalists. However, despite all the wonders that are actually key to attracting tourism in the park which earn foreign currency for the nation’s economy, the national park is faced with several challenges both inside and outside it. More....

Source: Newindianexpress.com Similipal has got its canine investigating team. Nine months after it set about the job, a two-dog unit, specially trained by the Border Security Force (BSF), is now on the ground to help the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) authorities investigate poaching.A German Shepherd and a Labrador __ the first, a sniffer and the second, a tracker __ were sent to the National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD) under the BSF at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh. The canines have been specially trained with investigating cases of poisoning, incidence of which has risen alarmingly in the tiger habitat.With support from Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, the STR management sought a special training for its dog units as well as the handlers from the BSF. A special module was devised for the two canines too at the NTCD.The two dogs have been imparted training in identifying different types of poisons, most of which come in from of insecticides as the hunters use the substances to kill large animals like elephants. Most of these huntings take place during the ritualistic hunting, known as Akhand Shikar.“The salt licks and water bodies are laced with poisons and wild animals fall prey to the hunters’ trap. That is why we wanted the dog unit to be trained in poison identification so that we can crack such cases with accuracy. If the tracker can lead us to the source of the poison, we can be successful in arresting the perpetrators as well the trend,” STR Field Director and Regional Chief Conservator of Forests, Baripada, Anup Kumar Nayak said.The canines, with the handlers and two forest guards, are currently posted at Jashipur and kennels are being built for them. The squad will not be stationed at one point but keep moving from one place to another basing on the need.Very few tiger reserves in India have their own dog squad. In fact, Satkosia in Odisha, before it was notified as a TR, had a two-member squad, but it did not last long.

Source: Wrul.comA local concealed carry firearms instructor is facing several charges for an alleged deer poaching incident.45-year-old Gary T. Maricle of Carmi is charged with two counts of unlawful possession/taking of deer, one count of taking wildlife along the highway, and one count of spotlighting deer. Illinois Conservation Police investigated the case. Maricle has a first appearance on February 6th.

Source: Blog.hanthana.orgTuskers are animals who bear tusks which are elongated, continuously-growing, protruding teeth. Tusks take various shapes, sizes, colours and perform different functions. Ivory tusks have a unique colour and strength and therefore is in demand for carving. The most precious ivory is worn by African and Asian elephants.A reason for why this great spices [sic\ is in danger is that they have lost their natural habitats due to human activities. With the civilization of mankind they started clearing the forests for their cultivation and the rate today have become so high that most of the animals, including the elephants are in great danger of losing their habitats. Elephants tend to find food in the cultivations, an easier place to hunt for food than far away in the forest. Sometimes when the people are attached by the elephants, being angry, people tend to trap or shoot at the elephants which makes the issue worse. Construction of roads and railways across the natural habitats of animals to fulfill the transportation requirements of human beings has also contributed a lot for the drastic reduction in the number of elephants.

Both male and female African elephants wear tusks. Those are elongated incisor teeth. Ivory is in heavy demand for piano keys, religious icons, motifs, sculpture, statues and ornaments such as trinkets and amulets. Ivory carving industry is well-established in China. It is said the Chinese demand should be held responsible for endless poaching of elephants in Africa. Whether it is in Africa or Asia, elephants are an integral part of the habitat they live in; they modify their habitat upon their feeding behaviour. Elephants are tagged as forest engineers and their presence is essential for the survival of their own habitats.Statistics says as many as 8% (36,000) African elephants are poached annually for ivory. Slaughtering is done in the most brutal manner. Spears or automatic weapons are used to kill the animals. Immobilizing chemicals too are used to freeze them. The poachers hack the tusks off, sometimes from the animals dying in pain! AK-47 rifles were used for the elephant massacre in Cameroon’s Bouba N’Djida National Park in 2012, where more than 300 elephants were slaughtered within just three months.10 million elephant population in 1900 in Africa has been reduced to only 470,000 in 2007 which gives a clear sign of the pathetic situation the species is in. Why do we need to bother about the issue? Poaching adult elephants results in orphaned young elephants. Healthy tusks usually belong to strong animals of the population. More....

Source: Ens-newswire.comBy Charles MkokaWire snares and traps set by poachers have cost the Malawian Department of National Parks and Wildlife three of the Critically Endangered Black Rhinoceros that were re-introduced 20 years ago after the species was declared extinct in Malawi. The collapse of an electric solar-powered perimeter fence around a 14sq km sanctuary has created a loophole inside Liwonde National Park in the southern region district of Machinga, conservationists said. The lack of a fence, which was not built due to a wider financial scandal in Malawi dubbed “cashgate,” allowed poachers to enter the sanctuary. The black rhinos, Diceros bicornis, were reintroduced from South Africa’s Kruger National Park through the Care for the Rare wildlife species program, initially supported by J&B Whisky and several business magnates. Care for the Rare was an idea hatched following Malawi’s Black Rhino extinction after two of the last remaining animals were wiped out by armed poachers in Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve in 1991.The proliferation of automatic assault rifles from the 16-year civil war in neighboring Mozambique is believed to be cause of the loss of Malawi’s last remaining population of rhinoceros, highly sought globally for their horns. In an obituary statement following the loss of the three rhinos, Bentley Palmer, a lead member of the rhino monitoring team said the dead female, Justerini, together with the dead male, Brooks, were the original two rhinos brought back into Liwonde as part of Malawi’s Black Rhino re-introduction program. They arrived at Chileka airport on October 28, 1993 from Kruger National Park. Justerini produced six calves during her 20 good years in Liwonde. However, on July 15, 2013, the rhino monitoring team sighted Justerini in the sanctuary, and when they started to track her they found she was dragging a massive gin trap on her left rear leg. They lost her tracks and even after days of searching she still managed to evade any contact with the monitoring team. Ironically, on October 15, which is Mothers Day in Malawi, the carcass of this rhino mother was found by a rhino monitoring patrol two kilometres from a waterhole inside Liwonde National Park. She died from the results of the gin trap snare, a steel spring trap which severed off her foot. More....

Source: Hillpost.inBy Jagdish BhattApparently appalled at the unabated poaching of tigers in the Corbett National Park and its adjoining forest areas spread in Amangarh forest range in the adjoining state of Uttar Pradesh, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NCTA) has called a special meeting in New Delhi on Dec 26 to take stock of the growing menace. Official sources here confirmed that the recent recovery of two fresh tiger skins and other body organs from poachers recently in which twelve people were taken into custody, was an indication that tiget poaching continues unabated not only in the Corbett National park, but the adjoining forests, where the felines stray into for search of food.They said that the Corbett National park has a very high density of tigers and it is believed that there is almost one tiger to every sq km of the Park, because of which many of the felines stray into the adjoining forests in search of food. It is these adjoining forest areas where they become more prone to being killed by the poachers, they added. Sources said that the Corbett National Park had a fairly large strength of guards who patrol the Park area round-the-clock, but even then there had been cases where tigers had been trapped in snares and killed brutally. “However, the adjoining forests have very little wildlife wardens strength to patrol the vast areas and they are not armed, as such the tigers that have either strayed into these areas or made them their home are prone to be killed by poachers”, they claimed.They admitted that the recent recovery of the tiger skins, which had been removed from tigers that had been barely killed a couple of days before the recovery was an indication that the poachers had become active in the adjoining forests because of the low strength of wildlife guards, and also the fact that they were not properly armed to take upon poachers. “Besides interrogation of the arrested poachers gave a lot of insight to the modus operandii of that the poachers had adopted to make the kills and get away without being caught. It is following this information that the NCTA has decided to hold a meeting of the wild life departments of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and Special Task force in Delhi so that a fool proof plan can be drawn out to prevent the poaching of tigers”, they claimed.

Source: InCyprus.philenews.comCyprus is facing international embarrassment after a rare bird, last spotted on the island in 1979, was shot and killed by poachers, a conservation group has said. Speaking to The Cyprus Weekly, BirdLife Cyprus spokesperson Tassos Shialis said the local bird watching community is still in shock over the illegal shooting of a Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) within the UN controlled buffer zone near Yeri in Nicosia. “The Little Bustard is not yet on the critically endangered list but it has a threatened status and is extremely rare in Cyprus. This is a terrible embarrassment for Cyprus and a detrimental blow to bird conservation.” According to Shialis, the Little Bustard which was spotted in early December was found dead in a no-hunting zone on Sunday with tests revealing that it was illegally shot. The previous recorded sighting of the bird in Cyprus took place 34 years ago. “We believe it ended up here after losing its orientation or being blown off course. This particular species is more commonly spotted in Israel or Turkey,” Shialis explained. After the recent spotting, news spread quickly within the bird watching community and dozens of people flocked to the area to catch a glimpse of the rare species which they hoped would winter in Cyprus. Birdwatchers were left shattered when instead of spotting the Little Bustard in nature they stumbled across its lifeless body. “This illegal shooting once again highlights the serious problem of poaching on the island of non-game species especially in areas where hunting is forbidden.” The conservationist added that Birdlife is now calling upon the competent authorities to take greater action against poaching, particularly within the buffer zone which has become a trapping hotspot. BirdLife data released earlier in the week revealed that illegal bird trapping in Cyprus has increased by 54% since 2002 while some 1.5 million birds were killed on the island in 2013 with mist nets and lime sticks.

Source: Oregonlive.comEnvironmental groups Monday asked a federal judge to halt a planned wolf and coyote derby in Idaho, calling the event an illegal killing contest.The complaint by Wild Earth Guardians and other environmental groups in U.S. District Court in Pocatello contends the U.S. Forest Service ignored federal laws by allowing the derby to proceed this Saturday and Sunday without requiring organizers to first secure a special-use permit for a commercial event.A pro-hunting group behind the derby, Idaho for Wildlife, aims to lure up to 300 adults and children to Salmon to boost the economy — and raise awareness for health concerns it says are related to wolves.The environmentalists say the Forest Service failed to follow its own procedures and violated the National Environmental Policy Act by "failing entirely to consider the environmental impacts of allowing the killing contest."They're asking a judge to halt the event by issuing a temporary restraining order.Wolves are game animals in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming after federal Endangered Species Act protections were lifted starting in 2011. There are annual hunting and trapping seasons.Idaho has about 680 wolves, according to 2012 estimates, following their reintroduction to the state starting in 1995 after they were nearly wiped out in the 1970s.Coyote derbies aren't uncommon around the West, but including wolves in a contest offering up to $2,000 in cash prizes and trophies has sparked an outcry among environmental groups. Joining Wild Earth Guardians in the lawsuit were Project Coyote, the Western Watersheds Project, the Boulder-White Clouds Council and the Animal Welfare Institute.

In mid-December, Idaho for Wildlife approached the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management about the event. More....

Source: Newsleader.comBy Laura PetersJeremy Keegan respects the deer, turkey and squirrels he hunts and the land he hunts them on.The Timberville man believes in following the rules, but, he also knows that not everyone agrees.“People that I know and respect ... all share a respect for the animals that we hunt and the environment that we hunt in,” he said. “We understand that not only is it benefiting us, but it’s benefiting Virginia and Virginia wildlife, and that we’re helping control the populations and we are following the regulations in order to protect the animals and the environment.“I’m not willing to go outside the boundaries of the law to feed my family, and some people are,” Keegan said. “I also think that some people don’t care that much about the laws.”And that’s why poaching is an increasing problem that is robbing hunters of legitimate prey, circumventing state efforts to manage wildlife and too often scarring the countryside with the carcases of illegally killed animals.Virginia Conservation Police Offier Chance Bobbs said the number of calls his agency has been getting from the public about poachers has been steadily increasing.Driving down back roads in Augusta County, many motorists can see what poachers have left behind. The mangled remnants of deer, sometimes in bags, but often simply dumped in the open.Calls spike in November, but really are heavy throughout the fall and early winter. Arrests also are tough to predict.“It really fluctuates every year,” he said. “It all depends how good the information is. If we go out on our own and things happen in front of us, we catch them all. But, if we get little bits of information, we don’t always get enough evidence to charge somebody.”Bobbs said it’s helpful for people to call in and give as much information as possible. But, a lot of people fear retaliation. Bobbs said there is an anonymous tip line.But aside from investigating a report of someone actively poaching, the police work too often starts with a carcass and it’s up to him to back track from there to find the poacher. More....

Source: Projects.registerguard.comWildlife officials say a Michigan man has pleaded guilty to illegally killing a buck mule deer west of Cody. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department said in a news release Monday that Stephen Kovacs recently acknowledged killing the animal without a license. Kovacs, who was ordered to pay $750 in fines and $4,000 in restitution, will lose all hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for the next three years. North Cody Game Warden Travis Crane says he saw Kovacs shoot the deer in the Wall Creek drainage on the North Fork of the Shoshone River on Nov. 6. At the time, Kovacs denied shooting the animal, but tracks matching the tread pattern of his boots were found near the carcass and casings matching a round from Kovacs' rifle were found nearby.

Source: Greenprophet.comBy Karin Kloosterman[It is\ illegal to serve this disgusting delicacy in restaurants, but despite being outlawed some 1.5 million songbirds will have been killed in Cyprus this year to make a dish called ambelopoulia. The statistics in come [sic\ BirdLife Cyprus’ surveillance programme. Martin Hellicar from BirdLife Cyprus told the BBC that in Dhekelia, organised criminal gangs created “labyrinths” of acacia trees, irrigating the plantations and cutting corridors through them in order to set up long mist nets. These operations often also use loudspeakers with recordings of bird calls in order to lure migrating birds into the almost invisible nets. BirdLife Cyprus says that massive profits are being made by often organised and ruthless trappers thanks to the largely uncontrolled sale of expensive ambelopoulia in law-breaking restaurants. “A dozen birds can fetch up to 80 euros,” a spokesperson from BirdLife Cyprus told the BBC. BirdLife Cyprus and the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have been monitoring songbirds – or as they are locally know as “ambelopoulia” – trapping operations on the island since 2002. BirdLife Cyprus told the Cyprus Mail, in that time, the scale of bird-trapping had increased by 54 percent over the last decade. Although it is widespread, the organisation said that some of the largest trapping operations were within the UK’s Sovereign Base Areas (SBA). These take place on the two British SBAs in Cyprus, at Akrotiri and Dhekelia, sites covering about 100 square miles that are British sovereign territory. Because Cyprus is a key stopover on the migration route of many birds, including blackcaps and warblers, the trapping mainly takes place during the autumn. BirdLife’s estimate that 1.5 million birds will have been killed will be published in early 2014, as part of a report on bird-trapping in the country. In 2011 they estimated a million were killed, so numbers appear to be rising. Migrating birds will have no chance if this barbaric practice continues unabated.

Source: Thehindu.comThe Forest Department will launch a special combing operation in the forests of Sattari in north Goa on Friday after a leopard was found dead at Bramhakarmali, Sattari due to trap laid by unidentified poachers. This is the second case within three days where unidentified poachers in the area had trapped a leopard leading to its death.